No Ifs or Buts: Jeans Ads Get Blunt

In what could be called a race to the bottom, some denim companies are breaking language taboos, not backing away from using crude language to describe the backside.

A current slogan for Levi Strauss & Co.'s Levi Curve ID women's jeans reads "All A—es Were Not Created Equal." The slogan, which doesn't bleep out the three-letter word for the behind, appears in store windows, on billboards and as part of a flashy magazine campaign. VF Corp.'s Lee Jeans brand has a television commercial in which Mike Rowe, host of "Dirty Jobs" on the Discovery Channel, refers to his hindquarters as "butt." Gap Inc.'s Old Navy brand recently used the word "booty" in TV ads for a system to determine the best jeans for all sorts of behinds. The words "Booty Reader" show on the screen.

ENLARGE

Many young people shrug off the more-risqué language for jeans marketing. Some parents have their doubts.
Old Navy

The brands say they're merely reflecting the way their consumers speak today. "No woman turns around in the mirror, looks at herself and says, 'My derrière is not as perky as it should be'," said
You Nguyen,
Levi's head of women's merchandising and design. (Curve ID is a jeans line that promises a number of fits for a variety of bottoms.)

The brands are also trying to stand out in a crowded denim field in a challenging economy. Each brand claims it has received overwhelmingly positive response and few complaints.

Renata Bryant and her mother Maggie noticed the "a" word plastered in big print on the front window of Levi's massive store in the middle of New York's Times Square one recent afternoon. "It's funny," said the 29-year-old daughter. "I don't think it's offensive at all."

"Ummm," the elder Ms. Bryant said when asked if she approved of the slogan. "This is very clever for the younger generation. But it might be a little offensive for the older generation," not to mention very young children, she said. Her daughter rolled her eyes and smiled. "Mom's a little more conservative than me," she said.

Melissa Mullins of Herndon, Va., was watching TV in the early evening with her 4-year-old son, Ben, when Old Navy's commercial came on. Soon afterward, "he would stick out his little tushie and say, 'I want a booty reader, mommy,' Ms. Mullins said. She now feels she must be vigilant about 30-second TV ads, in which there's little time to switch the channel before something offensive pops up.

"There is a frustration for many parents because even when they find something suitable for their children to watch on television, they still have to worry about the content in the ads," said
Melissa Henson,
communications director at the Parents Television Council, which has fielded comments from parents on the Old Navy ads.

Amy Curtis-McIntyre,
Old Navy's chief marketing officer, said the brand considered the word booty "lighthearted and happy.… Old Navy likes to play a little with edginess but in a place that's more fun and irreverent rather than edgy."

Susan Credle,
chief creative officer of Leo Burnett USA, said she can't recall such strong language ever being used in mainstream advertising not specifically targeted at adults. The Federal Communications Commission, which wouldn't comment on these ads specifically, says that profanity, defined as vulgar, irreverent, or coarse "language so grossly offensive to members of the public who actually hear it as to amount to a nuisance," is prohibited on broadcast radio and television between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. The commission could fine a station airing an ad with what is considered profane words. In July, a federal appeals court threw out the FCC's rules on indecent speech, saying they violate the First Amendment and are "vague." The FCC has asked the court to rehear the case.

However, advertising and branding experts are split on whether using slang and coarser language can be effective.
Dean Crutchfield,
chief engagement officer of brand agency Method, said that if the language—particularly Levi's use of the "a" word—managed to grab attention, then it worked to a degree. "It's fresh. Not that many other people are using it, so you're going to stand out," he said.Ms. Credle of Leo Burnett, on the other hand, said that in addition to potentially risking offending consumers the ads could make the brands look desperate.

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